Chocolate Dipped Meringues

These are best if kept in the oven overnight.  These are a great cookie to make about and hour before bed.  My Great Uncle taught us to make these on paper grocery bags.  If you do not have any bags, parchment paper works just fine!  I dipped one batch in milk chocolate and the other in white chocolate and sprinkled them with crushed peppermint.  Yum!!


 Chocolate Dipped Meringues

4 large egg whites, at room temperature

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar, process in food processor until very fine

1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

Piping Bag

Pre-heat oven to 225 degrees.  Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment beat egg whites until foamy.  Add in cream of tartar and beat until white and fluffy.  Gradually add in processed sugar and then vanilla.  Increase speed to high and beat until stiff and glossy.  Approx. 6 minutes.

*When you pull the whisk out, the mixture should form a stiff peak*

Using a piping bag with medium sized tip or just a plastic bag with a hole cut in the end pipe the mixture onto cookie sheets lined with paper bags.  They should be about 2 inches in size and about 1 inch apart from each other.

Place sheets in oven for 30 minutes.  Turn off oven and leave in overnight.

In the morning remove from oven and pull each peak from the bags.  Lay out a few sheets of wax paper on the counter.  Over a double boiler melt the chocolate chips. Dip each meringue into the chocolate about 1/4 of the way up.  Place on the wax paper and allow the chocolate to harden for a few hours.  If sprinkling with peppermints do immediately after dipping.